The Utes want their message to be heard loud and clear: They plan on winning the Pac-12.
So excuse them if they don’t want to talk about moral victories after last weekend’s scoreless draw with No. 11 Cal.
“Our goal is to win the conference. The girls have been really clear about that all summer and into the fall,” said Utah head coach Rich Manning. “We’re not just here to be in the Pac-12 anymore. We want to win it, so there is an element of disappointment [in the draw].”
Cal was predicted to finish third in the conference coming into the season and was expected to battle it out with UCLA and Stanford for the league title, but the Utes outplayed the highly-ranked Bears for the majority of both teams’ conference opener on Friday. Because of that, Utah was disappointed to walk away with just one point toward the conference standings.
“Every [conference] game is going to be hard-fought,” said forward Kaycee Buckley. “We don’t look at the rankings. We just view them as our competitor and we just want to be the best team out on the field and I think [on Friday] that was us.”
In that match, the Utes became the first squad this season to hold the Golden Bears scoreless, and goalkeeper Lindsey Luke was only called upon to make two saves.
Though the “element of disappointment” is there, the Utes feel that their claim of being a contender has been legitimized by the performance and players are looking forward to the rest of the conference slate.
“Any effort like that boosts our confidence,” Buckley said. “I am so excited for the upcoming games and to be a part of this team.”
The Utes have good players throughout the field, but it is difficult to find a superstar among them and the team relishes in the fact that it truly will succeed as a group. For example, defender Jenny Hutton replaced the injured Monica Okapal and helped Utah shut down the high-powered Bears attack.
“The entire time, it was a unit,” Buckley said. “I can’t [just single out] one player that made an impact. It was a whole team. It’s exciting. It’s fun.”
The Utes now have five draws on the season, three of which have been scoreless, but players and coaches see nothing to worry about in that regard.
“When you play that well, I know the goals will come and the wins will come,” Manning said.
Utah will continue its chase for the Pac-12 title when it welcomes Oregon and Oregon State to Ute Field this weekend.
“I got to give it up to the girls,” said sophomore midfielder Katie Rigby. “We played a heck of a game. I am really proud of the team and how we played, but we’re not done. I can’t wait to keep playing in the Pac-12.”